Soccer is a well known sport worldwide and is increasing in popularity. One of its appealing characteristics is its simplicity: a ball and a goal are the only required equipment. In much of the world, community parks and playgrounds commonly include permanently installed soccer goals. Yet in many areas most playgrounds, parks and other surfaces suitable for playing soccer lack soccer goals. It is therefore desirable to provide a portable soccer goal so that games of soccer may be played in such settings.
Some attempts have been made to develop portable soccer goals. A relatively early example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,272 to Pennell. The Pennell goal is made of several separable units and requires at least two people for assembly and disassembly. It uses several loose fasteners, including screws, bolts and clip pins, and is xe2x80x9cportablexe2x80x9d only in a station wagon or pickup truck. Several later goals also require the assembly of numerous separate pieces (U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,507 to Caruso, U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,375 to Moosavi).
Soccer goals consisting of numerous pieces have the distinct disadvantage that they are difficult and slow to set up. Loose fasteners may require tools for driving or tightening, and may also become lost in transit or storage or during assembly of a goal on a turf playing field.
In some portable goal designs, a balance was struck between portability and ease of assembly. A goal would be broken down into few separate pieces or one piece, but the resulting piece or pieces would be large and cumbersome (U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,411 to Padilla, U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,040 to Amburgey et al.). Other attempts sacrificed the shape, structure, or dimensions of authentic soccer goals to enhance portability and/or ease of setup (U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,158 to Klock, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,844 to Haseltine, U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,527 to Noval, U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,433 to Armell).
Several of these designs do not look or behave like a genuine soccer goal, and can provide a disadvantage when players become accustomed to attacking or defending a goal with a configuration that is different from that of the goals they will use in more standard soccer venues.
Some recent goals have taken other approaches in balancing the competing design objectives. One strategy is to rely on numerous hinges, supporting angles, and beam architecture theory to devise a rigid but collapsible goalpost. U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,368 to Pavonetti describes a multiply hinged soccer goal. This soccer goal has a plurality of pieces, some of which are connected by hinges at one end and have a second free end that must be inserted or otherwise connected to adjacent parts of the goal during setup. Goal setup also involves connecting crossbar members together until the cross bar members attain the attributes of a fixed beam. The Pavonetti goal also has several telescoping members, such as the net supporting arms. In addition, the soccer goal is supported by two flat base units that connect the front of the goal to the rear of the goal on each side. These units therefore attach to the playing surface, the rear supports, and the uprights.
The several connectible net supporting arms complicate the setup and breakdown of the goal. The telescoping members provide a disadvantage if they jam or bend, because they may then fail to properly telescope.
Base members connecting the net supports to the uprights create a significant disadvantage when the goal is installed on a playing surface that is not flat, because the uprights rise from the base members at a 90xc2x0 angle. This relationship of relatively long straight base members connected to the uprights dictates that, if the playing surface slopes, the uprights will proportionally deviate from a substantially vertical position.
The Pavonetti goal has the additional disadvantage that the net is attached to the goal using a plurality of hooks. Such an arrangement requires additional setup time for attaching the net and may also provide an undesirable hazard arising from numerous hooks on the frame of the goal.
An important issue not directly addressed in previous designs is how to configure a goal that can withstand the force of a player grasping and hanging from the crossbarxe2x80x94a behavior often seen on the soccer field. Under some designs a goal may suddenly fail under such a force. The potential danger to the player of a sudden failure is evident. Other goals may permanently bend under a strong downward force, resulting in damage to the goal; the undesirability of this alternative is equally evident.
An additional factor in considering desirable features for a portable soccer goal is the fact that many of the available playing surfaces are uneven or sloped. Goals that focus primarily on a rigid structure may not be sufficiently adaptable to mount stably in an upright position on an uneven or sloping surface.
One object of this invention is to provide a soccer goal allowing very rapid and simple setup, not requiring the use of any loose fasteners to join the pieces together, nor hooks to attach the net to the goal.
Another object of this invention is to provide a soccer goal having versatility for installation on uneven playing surfaces while maintaining the soccer goal erect and stable on such uneven surfaces.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a lightweight portable goal with a folding crossbar wherein the crossbar will neither be damaged nor suddenly and dangerously fail in the event a player should attempt to hang therefrom.
An additional object of this invention is to provide a soccer goalpost combinable with several supporting configurations. The goalpost itself, however its rearward support is configured, has many of the desirable simplicity, portability, and safety features mentioned above.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple method for rapidly and stably erecting a soccer goal on a playing surface.
The invention provides a folding soccer goal, consisting of a goalpost, a backstay, and a net. The goal can be set up without tools or separate fasteners to join the segments together. Likewise there are no required tools or fasteners for attaching the net to the goal. The goal also folds to a portable size to fit in a trunk or back seat of a car, and conveniently fits into a bag for carrying.
In addition to the goal""s light weight, ease of use, and portability, the design further allows a sturdy, safe, full-size configuration. It is also adaptable for use even on somewhat sloped playing surfaces.
The goalpost includes a horizontal crossbar and two vertical posts. The crossbar may be hinged along its length, and the hinge may both permit folding and provide a safety feature. The safety hinge allows the crossbar to gradually collapse without breaking if a player attempts to grasp and hang from the goal. The safety hinge may be reinforced with a breakaway sleeve to prevent any tendency to sag in long configurations of the crossbar, while preserving the safety feature of allowing the crossbar to slowly collapse when a significant downward force, such as a person""s body weight, is applied to the crossbar. This safety hinge feature also prevents damage to the goal that players could otherwise cause by hanging from the crossbar. The crossbar may also be equipped with a locking hinge, such as a deadbolt hinge.
Each vertical post connects to the crossbar via hinges or other flexible or folding attachments. Alternatively, the crossbar may have a modular connection with the posts. Each vertical post also has at its base a hinged foot assembly, consisting of a hinge and a foot. The assembly may be integral with the post, or it may have a modular connection to the post. The hinge allows the foot to pivot so that the foot may be easily fastened to a playing surface as part of anchoring and erecting the goal. The hinges may have snap or locking features that prevent the goalpost from leaning forward after the posts are raised to the vertical position. A fixed spike, or a tracked or housed spike, may also be part of the foot assembly, allowing a mode of fastening the foot to the playing surface without the goal having any loose parts. The vertical posts may themselves fold, and may include one or more locking hinges along the length of the posts.
The backstay provides support to the rear of the goalpost, and consists of two backstay bars that connect to the goalpost, either on or near the joint that connects the crossbar with the vertical posts. This connection is again via hinges or other flexible or folding attachments, or it may be a modular, detachable connection. The backstay bars extend outward and downward from their attachment to the goalpost, and may have integral or modular spiked feet or fastening the backstay to the playing surface. Alternatively, the backstay bars may provide a contact pad for frictionally contacting the playing surface.
The backstay bars may each consist of two or more segments whose ends may articulate by sliding together. The segments may also be joined with locking hinges, such as deadbolt hinges, or with other flexible or rigid joint configurations. One or more regions of a backstay bar may flex or bend to achieve the desired position and suspension of the net. Backstay bars with flexible regions may be used to allow installation of the goal on an uneven surface without displacing the goalpost from its desirable vertical position.
The soccer goal may also have a base frame, consisting of side supports and a rear support. The side supports connect to the vertical posts and to the backstay bars, and the rear support runs between the backstay bars along the back of the goal. The base frame may be detachably connected to the soccer goal, or it may connect via hinges or other foldable attachments to the vertical posts. The side and rear supports may have contact pads for frictionally contacting a playing surface, or they may provide guides for receiving spikes or other connectors for stable attachment of the base from to a playing surface, or the supports may provide both contact pads and connector guides.
The net may be of any material suitable for use in a soccer goal, and may be permanently attached to the goal. This feature eliminates the need for potentially dangerous hooks or multiple fastening steps, further enhancing the safety and simplicity of erecting and using the goal.
The invention also provides a soccer goalpost, whatever the configuration of any additional part of the goal. The goalpost is the front part of the goal consisting of the crossbar and the vertical posts. The safety, portability, and ease of erection features of the goalpost, as discussed above, may be combined with any variety of rearward supports, nets, and bases.
The invention also provides a stabilized hinge system for a soccer goal, consisting of any hinged part of a soccer goal, together with a breakaway sleeve to stabilize the hinge. The stabilized hinge may thus be part of a foldable crossbar, a vertical post, or a backstay bar.
The soccer goal may be stabilized on uneven terrain by attaching a shock cord to flexible backstay bars and to the goalpost. The flexible backstay allows variable positioning of the feet of the backstay bars, depending on the contours of the playing surface, and the shock cord provides tension that stabilizes the goalpost in a upright position. The shock cord may attach near the bottom of the flexible backstay bars and to the crossbar, or near the top of the vertical posts.
Also part of the invention is a method for erecting a soccer goal on a playing surface. The goalpost is first laid horizontally on the playing surface. The feet of the hinged foot assembly are then placed against the playing surface by opening the hinges at the base of each post. The feet are attached to the playing surface, and then the posts are elevated to a vertical position, thus elevating the entire goalpost. Alternatively, the modular foot assembly may be attached first to the playing surface, then to the vertical post.
The feet may be attached to the playing surface by driving one or more spikes through each foot, or by inserting in the playing surface spikes that are an integral part of the foot. They may also be attached in several other ways including, on some surfaces, articulating with a permanent fastener integral with the playing surface.
The playing surface may be a turf playing field or a lawn. It may also be sand, dirt, clay, concrete, asphalt, hardwood, and the like. A goal may also be attached by this method to ice or other surfaces for use as a hockey goal.
Stability of goals erected by this method may be further enhanced with the use of backstay bars. The backstay bars may have spiked feet, or they may have feet with a nonslip contact pad or a tractioned surface. The backstay feet may also be capable of articulating with a permanent fastener integral with the playing surface. Goal stability may also be achieved by connecting shock cords from the lower part of the backstay bars to the crossbar or the upper part of the vertical posts. Additional stabilization of the goal may be realized with use of locking mechanisms on the hinges at the feet of the vertical posts.